⚓️ Charge More by Escaping "Price Anchoring"

Once you learn this, you'll never fall for it again.

Have you found yourself suddenly dropping your price because your client threw a budget at you that was way off from what you had expected?

You think:

"If that's their budget, there's NO WAY they can afford my rate."

Welcome to price anchoring.

In short, price anchoring means that the first price someone hears becomes their frame of reference for financial decision-making that follows.

In that situation, your prospective client anchored you to their price.

(It's the same reason real estate agents will show their clients an underwhelming property before showing them the target sell: the second house looks like a no-brainer compared to the first one they saw.)

Chris Do, founder of the incredible educative platform The Futur, demonstrates price anchoring fantastically here:

So...

How do you AVOID getting anchored?

The answer is simple: drop a new anchor.

Instead of adjusting your figures based on what your client pitches, simply say:

"I'm sorry, but I can't make that work. Can you come up with another number?"

If that feels uncomfortable, then ask to get back to them on price.

Wait until the effect of their anchor has worn off, THEN pitch your price.

Don't let someone's budget stop you from valuing your contributions at their true value.